Underneath the Cork Tree
by darandomninja
Summary: What happens when Arthur and Francis finds out Gilbert's and Matthew's relationship? And what does this have to do with a cork tree? FACE, GilbertxMatthew, FrancisxArthur Dedicated to all my readers who put up with my irregular updates!


**A/N :**

**This fic is dedicated to all my readers who await for my irregular updates. Thank you for being patient. This is for you all! I hope you like it! :]**

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From the outside, it seemed like a quiet evening at the Bonnefoy-Kirkland residence. But inside, it was by no means peaceful.

In actuality, there was a fuming, drunk-as-hell Britishman in the middle of the kitchen. His shirt was untucked and his tie loosened as he swayed back and forth with a bottle of rum. With every sip he took, he seemed to grow more angry, flinging insults at whatever came to mind before he hiccuped back a couple sobs. After seconds of silence, he shook his head and repeated the cycle.

His partner, a well known Frenchman around town, was sitting in the corner, holding his glass of wine as he watched this event happen for the past couple of hours or so. Oh how he wished he could be like his partner and have a low tolerance for alcohol.

"You frog. It's all your fault this happened. If you didn't introduce your damn friends to Alfred and... and his twin, then this wouldn't have happened," he slurred, giving an accusing glare at Francis.

"His name is Mattieu, Arthur. You should take well to remember it, mon cher," he sighed.

A couple hours ago, Arthur, Francis, and Alfred went out to watch an American Football game. Matthew opted out of the excursion. After a glorious win from the home team, the three came home and turned on the lights to see a familiar albino straddling a flustered American-Canadian on the couch. From there, it was like a bad drama scene.

"Mattieu?"

"Matthew Williams Bonnefoy-Kirkland! What in the bloody hell are you doing with this wanker?" Arthur screeched, dropping their grocery bags on the floor.

Gilbert reluctantly got off the man and rolled his eyes. "Of course, it's only now that you remember Birdie's name," he smirked, "And I'm pretty sure you know what we were doing."

"Shut the fuck up Gilbert! I want to hear it from the lad's mouth," he seethed, sending the so-called Prussian glare daggers.

Matthew stood up. Red faced, he looked at his family, his hands wringing the hem of his favorite red hoodie. "Dad, _Papa, _I'm... I'm dating Gilbert."

Before Arthur could scream anything, Francis interjected. "Mattieu, you didn't address Alfred. Does that mean he knows?"

Alfred walked next to Gilbert and Matthew, answering Francis' question and enraging Arthur further.

"You, how long have you known?" Arthur asked, looking at his favorite son, a bit betrayed.

Alfred sighed. "Mattie told me about 2 months after they started dating," he glanced at Gilbert, frowning at the memory. "So as the hero, I checked to make sure Gilbert was someone worthy of Mattie. Though the things he did before made me iffy, I decided he's fine."

The news kept swirling around Arthur's head, refusing to become comprehensible. He muttered something under his breath.

"Dad, what did you say?" Matthew asked, hoping his stubborn dad will relent.

"I don't approve," Arthur stated.

Matthew grew angry and raised his voice. "And why _not_? Is there a good enough reason why I shouldn't date the one person I love?" he yelled, frustrated. He hoped he could have this one piece of happiness, but to have someone prevent him from it made his infuriated.

"You could date anyone, but Gilbert Beilschmidt? The guy who is recognized by the local police, is known to have sold drugs in high school, AND is known to visit the Red Light District every week!" Arthur pointed at accusing jab at said person.

Gilbert by all means did not appreciate his past to be used against him. "Old man, that was before I met Birdie! So you can shove it up your ass and..."

"That's enough Gil," Matthew interrupted.

"But..."

Matthew shook his head. He looked at both his fathers, especially Arthur. "You don't know Gilbert like I do, so you can't judge him, or our relationship."

Arthur crossed his arms. "My mind is made up."

"And I respect your decision," Matthew replied. "But it doesn't mean I will agree to it," he added. He grabbed Gilbert's hand and pulled him towards the door.

Before Matthew or Gilbert could react, Francis punched Gilbert in the stomach, hard. All was still until he wiped away imaginary dust on his hands and calmly walked deeper inside the house.

The rest happened in seconds. Matthew carried Gilbert out of the house, Alfred loyally following, while Arthur pleaded for them to come back. But the moment the door slammed closed, Arthur fell to the floor in a heap of sobs.

Francis' reverie was interrupted when Arthur began to bang his fists to his chest. "Frog, you stupid flirt! It's all your fault that this happened. I wouldn't feel so betrayed by Alfred, or hurt that M...Matthew kept it from me for so long!" he wailed.

Francis embraced him as he continued his drunken cries. After a while, his sobs became occasional hiccups. Arthur took a cursory glance at the window, seeing it was dark out. "D-Do you think they'll be alright?"

Francis thought of the small smile Gilbert sent him after he punched him. "Don't worry, mon cher. They are in good hands," he replied, showing him an assured smile.

As if all of his worries dissapeared with his statement, Arthur's eyes fluttered shut and his body leaned towards Francis' body. Francis carefully brought him to the bed and lovingly tucked him in, giving a quick kiss on his partner's forehead before slipping in right next to him.

Francis yawned, felling his eyes drooping. _I have good friends, _he thought as he fell into a deep, inviting slumber.

**_Slam. Slam. _**

"What in the bloody hell are you two doing?"

"Calm down old man! You'll figure out when we get there!"

**_Screech._**

Francis woke up with a start, to find himself in a car with his family.

"Alfred, Mattieu, Ou est-ce que sommes-nous aller?/ _Where are we going?"_ he asked, confused.

"Papa, please wait until we reach there, okay? It's a secret," Matthew replied in his normal, soft spoken voice.

So the four rode in silence. Alfred kept all his concentration on the road as Matthew sneaked some glances at the back, nervous at the unnatural silence. All he saw was the two looking out of the window, Arthur with his arms crossed and impatient, while Francis was distant.

After what seemed to be hours of complete quiet, Aflred halted to a stop, sending the passengers lurching forward.

Before either parent could comment (Arthur in particular), the brothers took their farthers out of the car and blindfolded them successfully (with the exception of Alfred accidentally poking Arthur in the eye as he tried to quickly temporarily blind him).

"W-Wait! Where are you leading us?" Arthur asked, the worst-case scenario flying through his head. "Look, I'm sorry, okay? Why don't we talk this out calmly with our vision back," he suggested, his voice becoming panicky as his free hand clutched Francis'.

"Calm down old man. What are you thinking? That we'll leave you two in a ditch for your reaction yesterday? That's stupid," Alfred retorted, shaking his head. _"_Seriously, who do you think we are? A hero never would do that. I'm hurt."

After a couple minutes of walking, the four stopped. "Here we are, Dad, Papa," Matthew announced, the two unblindfolding them.

The parents were confused at the sight before them. "Why are we staring at a bunch of trees, Alfred, Mattieu?" Francis asked, scanning the area to see if there is something he missed.

Alfred shook his head. "Nope, this is it!" he replied, grinning widely.

"I don't understand, lad. What is this supposed to be?" Arthur continued to look at the trees, as if a huge banner will pop up, explaining the whole situation.

Matthew sighed, lightly hitting his brother in the back of his head. "Well, these are cork trees. When someone takes off their bark, the trunk turning into red, as if it's bleeding. But after a period of time, it will turn colors, from black..."

"To light grey, showing that it's ready to be used again to make cork," Alfred interrupted. Matthew sighed, but let his brother finish their explanation.

"So basically, we came here to show you, that no matter what problems that happens, we can get through it. After all, if this tree could be that strong, why can't the hero and his family be?" Alfred finished, smiling his a thousand watt grin.

Arthur and Francis were speechless, now looking at the many cork trees surrounding them. They exchanged a look before hugging both their boys.

"I'm sorry for overreacting yesterday. I hope you can forgive me, lad," Arthur apologized, tears beginning to form. Matthew nodded, feeling his own tears beginning to fall. They stayed at that spot, hugging for a while before pulling back. "Let's get back to the car, ma famille," Francis suggested.

The three nodded and the happy family walked back. Francis smiled as Alfred called his father something, resulting into a full blown argument as Matthew tried to calm the two down.

As they entered the car, Matthew spoke up. "By the way, did any of you realize what yesterday was, eh?"

The four looked at him, confused as to why he seemed so hopeful. "Yesterday was the football game. What about it?" all three of them answered.

Matthew muttered under his breath as Alfred began their journey home.

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**A/N Sorry for the late fic, Canada! I love you! And don't worry. When I was in Spain on your birthday, I screamed you Happy Birthday on the streets. So you're not forgotten! :] BTW, if you haven't caught on, "yesterday" was Canada's birthday. At least it was when I wrote this fic. **

**I'm sorry if it wasn't that well written/well beta-ed. I wrote this on the airplane and typed this while I'm jetlagged and dead exhausted (and I still am). But I hope it wasn't too confusing. **

**As usual, please R&R, and if there are obvious mistakes and you want to point them out to me, please do. I would love that. **

**Again, I hope my readers that this fic is dedicated to will like this small fic. And some news/status updates for my fics:**

**I will post the next/last couple of chapters for "Changes as Time Progresses" as soon as I can, which will probably be next week. I just need to borrow some books from the library about the Revolution and whatnot, but I can't do it right away, seeing as I have no one to drive me there. I hope you will be patient a bit more. **

**And during my trip to Spain, I have gained so much fic ideas. :] So expect a USxRussia fic, SpainxRomano, and cute fluffy one-shot fics soon!**


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